I thought I should probably start another thread to document my surgery and results so as not to hijack someone else's thread. I'll be in Seoul at the end of February for this surgery and I'm getting really excited. I pass fine in person and even on the phone usually so my voice isn't terrible, but I'm excited about the prospect of not really having to think about it that much, and possibly being able to sing again. I've been full-time since last year and I've got the resonance down, so with a pitch increase I'm hoping it sounds very natural and feminine. I love Jenny, Abby, and Sarah's results! I am thinking of staying at the Gangnam Artnouveau hotel where Abby stayed because I like the idea of a kitchenette and laundry in the suite in case I'm not feeling up to eating out for every meal. My friend is coming with me so I'm hoping we'll have a lot of time to sightsee and shop between the surgery and followup.

Here are some of the activities I'm thinking of doing:-Shopping in myeong dong for fashion/makeup (tons of free makeup samples apparently)-See a movie at COEx mall and visit the aquarium (largest underground mall in Asia)-Go to the top of namsan mountain to see the love locks and eat at the really good (recommended by a friend) buffet restaurant-Shop at the street markets namdaemun and dongdaemun-Eat at the luxurious food court Gourmet 494 in the basement of Galleria-Visit the world's largest indoor theme park: Lotte World-Eat Korean street food at Gwangjang market or outside Itaewon station at night-Shop for souvenirs in Insadong-Shop for international food and fake designer handbags in Itaewon -Shop for cheap clothes around Ehwa Women's University

Tips I've read:-Rent a cell phone at the airport-There's a free concierge service for tourists you can call at any time with questions about anything (directions, translation, where to buy something, etc). Just dial 1330 from any phone.

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sarahb

Congratulations on booking a date! You have definitely planned a lot of stuff to do. I myself didn't feel up to doing that much until at least day 3 post-op as I was always so worried about messing up the results by doing something I shouldn't within those critical few days, but everyone's probably different. I stayed at the same hotel as Abby and I loved it. It was close to the subway (which is sooooo convenient to get pretty much anywhere, including Yeson), the kitchenette came very much in handy when I didn't want to go out, there is a market within walking distance (although it's really hard to notice, as you have to go down a set of stairs to actually get to it from the street), there are so many coffee shops and dining places around, etc. It's pretty expensive in that area though, and you'll find that after a while things start to repeat like they just copy and pasted a section of blocks over and over (how many Paris Cafes did I see??).

I rented a phone at the airport and I think it was definitely worth it. In total it was like around $70 or something total and that included unlimited data so I never had to worry about getting lost and not having WiFi to be able to use Google Maps or anything like that, although WiFi is extremely prevalent there, it seems like it's available everywhere you go. That's great about that concierge number. That could have come in handy a few times!

Good luck with your surgery and keep us updated with your results afterwards February 26th will be here in no time!

One question, why can you not use your own cell phone and need to rent one.? (sorry if this has already been discussed

At least from the US:Korea and the US use both the older analogue CDMA and newer GSM technology. If you have a phone with an international calling plan, then there's no reason why it shouldn't work in Korea, but check with your carrier first. If you don't already have one, it's said renting a phone is cheaper since it comes with unlimited everything rather than having you pay exorbitant rates for a single Mb of data.

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Hey, you've reached Lauren's signature! If you have any questions, want to talk, or just need a shoulder to cry on, leave me a message, and I'll get back to you.*beep*

One question, why can you not use your own cell phone and need to rent one.? (sorry if this has already been discussed)

Hi Saskia, I'm from Canada and our cell providers charge insane amounts for international roaming data, so I'd rather rent a phone at the airport to use while I'm there than come home and find a thousand-dollar cell bill from my provider. I'll still bring my phone, but I'll turn off data and probably won't use it except in an emergency.

Congratulations, Megan! That's quite a jam-packed schedule you've got ahead of you! After my partner and I went out to the Korean restaurant, we can't get enough of the stuff. We bought a Korean cookbook and prepared a few of these dishes – one tastier than the next. Good stuff :-)

Since my cell phones (Sony Xperia P and also my older HTC model) don't support CDMA, I think there won't be an alternative to renting a phone. For European countries, I usually just buy a prepaid SIM card, but that doesn't seem to be an option here, sadly.

As I understood it, Korea has GSM, which is the system used in Germany as well, Amy.Can you use that cellphone also to get internet on the laptop? Or will you get a smartphone as a rental and use that for all?

There is such a rush of people going there now. Its funny - google Yeson and this website comes up very much at the top of the list.

Do you remember, back in the 90s, when Becky Allison, Andrea James, Lynn Conway, Nicole Hamilton and them had their FFSs with Dr. O and blogged about it? That caused a similar reaction in the community, especially Andrea James's account. I'm somehow reminded of this right now, except FFS was much more expensive even back then than VFS is now, and back then I was dirt poor and couldn't afford it anyways. Times have changed :-)

Yes definitely, Amy. i remember that time when Dr O was the only one doing this and literally wrote the book about it. And people went there and were telling how great it is and others claimed it was not good to do such an invasive surgery and that it is only for those who never ever pass otherwise. But still I think he soon had a long waiting list - So I guess i should expect that soon one should book some months in advance

let me quote the ENT who saw the Dr. Kim result of a friend of mine: "It ain't rocket science, it's just very exacting work, very exactly performed. I doubt anyone in Germany would be diligent enough to achieve this result."

As I understood it, Korea has GSM, which is the system used in Germany as well, Amy.

Careful to anyone bringing phone though - Korea (along with Japan) - never had GSM as they went straight from 1G to 3G. You need phones that support 2100 frequency band that Korea uses (most quad-band phones will have it) for its WCDMA/UMTS (3G) service.

Buying a sim card (Koreans call it USIM) can be a lot cheaper than renting a phone if you have a compatible phone. Phone rentals cost $5/day as opposed to $20 sim card which should last a month. iPhone 4s and after/ Galaxy S3s and after should work without a problem.

Wow!! You know better than me. I also go to a shopping street near a big university for purchasing very cheap fashion items. As most college students do not have big money, those stores target budget-conscious shoppers. Sometimes, surprisingly nice items can be purchased.

I frequently go to Seoul. Certainly I will be there on March 7-8, as I have to attend an international symposium held at Seoul Plaza hotel located in Myeongdong. Also, probably I will be there in late February, although the schedule is not yet fixed. If anybody wants to meet me and have dinner together, please PM me or post it.

Seoul will be still cold in late February and early March, but warmer than Canada. Anyway, bring winter clothes.

I saw a small-scale shopping street there. They sell various fashion items at economic prices. There were many foreigners, mostly from Japan and China. I guess there were more Chinese than Korean in the street.

The average price is KRW10,000 (ca. US$ 9). In some stores, all items sell at KRW10,000.I purchased several items there. All were KRW10,000 except the skirt in the top (ca. US$ 20) and the belt (ca. US$ 5).The gloves are for using smartphone (you do not need to take off the gloves).

I asked a nearby college girl to take a shot for me. In March, there will be far more college students, as the winter vacation ends.

I will be in Seoul on Feb. 28 - March 2, 2014. If anybody wants to meet me, please PM me. I can access Susan's through my smartphone. I have never met any transgender person face to face, and would like to offer lunch or dinner and chat together at a nice restaurant in Seoul, if I have any chance.

You can purchase the gloves in subway transits. Unfortunately, all signs are in Korean, and you may not have any clue whether they are for using smartphone, or not. Then just ask "Smartphone?", then the seller will say "Yes" or "No", as he/she understand the meaning of "smartphone". And try whether the gloves work for your smartphone, before purchasing it. They usually ask KRW 10,000 or less.

I am a kind of transsexual person, but do not plan any transition because of my family. In Korea, there are many transsexual and transgender people, but they usually are in stealth mode, mostly working at underground bars. They are not so much confident. I am a special case, as I express my femininity in public, and my social position is relatively high here in Korea. Because of these reasons, I have never met any other transgender person here, although I know a few through the internet, but not in the real world.